


The Gift of You

by gray_autumn_sky



Series: Set in Storybrooke, Canon Divergent [24]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-13 18:22:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15370566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gray_autumn_sky/pseuds/gray_autumn_sky
Summary: Written Christmas 2015.A short ficlet in which Regina overhears Roland tell Robin his favorite gift wasn’t anything from Santa–but the gift of a mother.





	The Gift of You

Robin sits at Roland’s beside, gently stroking his fingers through the boy’s tangled, messy curls. He smiles down at him, watching his son’s eyes become heavy with sleep.

“Did you have a good Christmas?” He asks in a gentle voice.

Roland nods his head, “Yeah, it was nice.” He smiles, “I liked all the cookies.”

“Of course you did,” Robin says with a small laugh.

“Christmas is so different in this world,” Roland says with a hint of a laugh. “I like it better here.”

“Yeah?” Robin asks, as his thoughts shift back to the Yuletide celebrations of the Enchanted Forest—the great feasts they’d have and all of the songs they’d sing not unlike the festivities in this realm. “Why do you say that?”

He can see Roland considering and then watches as a small grin form on the boy’s lips, his deep brown eyes glittering, “It’s…more magical here with the flying reindeer and Santa. I like that part.” He pauses, “And we have Henry and Regina here, too.”

“Well, that last bit’s my favorite part of Christmas in this realm, but,” Robin feels his smile deepen, “Would you possibly like it better here because Santa was particularly good to you this year?” 

Roland giggles, “Santa was good to me.” 

“What was your favorite gift?”

Robin watches as Roland’s brow furrows, considering his options—and to be fair, there are a lot of options for him to consider. Both he and Regina had spoiled the boys that year. In part, it was an effort to make up for the everything that happened—the teary separations, the quests that took them away from home, the instability that neither of them could control but both felt the need to make up for. But they’d also spoiled them because they simply couldn’t help themselves.

“It wasn’t anything Santa brought me,” Roland says finally, his voice soft and tentative.

“No?”

“No,” Roland repeats. Robin watches as he catches his lip between his teeth, still deep in thought.

“What was your favorite gift then?”

A small smile stretches across Roland’s lips, “My favorite gift this year was…getting a mother.”

“Oh,” Robin breathes out, his heart skipping a beat. “You mean…Regina?”

Roland nods and his eyes are suddenly wide, waiting for approval. “Is…is it okay that I think of her that way?” 

He feels a lump forming at the back of his throat and a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Of course it is,” he tells him, leaning forward to drop a kiss on the boy’s forehead. “And you know what?” His smile deepens as Roland shakes his head. “She was my favorite gift this year, too.”

Roland smiles and burrows back against the pillows, and they say no more. He sits there, on the edge of the bed, waiting until he’s sure Roland’s asleep. Finally he stands and adjusts the blankets around him; and that’s when he sees Regina standing in the door way, with soft eyes and a teary smile spayed across her face.  She holds out her hand to him and he’s quick to close the distance between them, taking her hand as she pulls him against her—and he knows that she will always be his favorite gift. 


End file.
